HENDERSON, Nev. (KLAS) — A CNN producer is accused of convincing a Nevada mother to fly her daughter cross-country to be “trained properly” through unlawful sexual activity, federal prosecutors said.
Following an FBI investigation, John Griffin, 44, of Stamford, Connecticut, faces three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
Griffin has worked at CNN for 8 years, the network confirmed Saturday.
Griffin used online messaging services Kik and Google Hangouts to talk to people reportedly being parents of young girls, saying, among other things, that young women should be trained to “be sexually subservient and inferior to men,” prosecutors wrote in a news release.
Griffin allegedly said he believed in “a way of life” in which “women are sexually subservient and inferior to men,” according to court documents.
In June of 2020, Griffin advised a Nevada mother of two young daughters, ages 9 and 13, to come to Vermont, where he has a second home, and be “trained properly,” prosecutors said.
Griffin transferred $3,000 to the mother so she could buy plane tickets from Nevada to Boston for her and the 9-year-old girl. The mother and children flew to Boston and Griffin drove them from the airport to his Vermont home.
“At the house, the daughter was directed to engage in, and did engage in, unlawful sexual activity,” prosecutors said.
Specific details about where in Nevada the family lives were not released, however, the Henderson Police Department is involved in the investigation, federal prosecutors said.
Griffin is also accused of proposing a “virtual training session” over video chat involving two minors.
Griffin faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison for each count.
Because the case is in federal court, a booking photo was unavailable.
“The charges against Mr. Griffin are deeply disturbing,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “We only learned of his arrest yesterday afternoon and have suspended him pending investigation.”
